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Gate 42
“You are mad Lord General. A direct assault on the enemy position is foolish if not suicidal.” The Raven Guard Captain remained calm for the moment but the man he spoke to was quickly eroding his patience. I have commanded my company for longer than you have been alive. Have you not seen enough death? I have... I will not waver but at times I am so weary... Captain Bertok knew better than to voice his thoughts aloud lest he undermine the Lord General's authority. "Are you not Adeptus Astartes? The legendary Space Marines? They will shatter like glass upon seeing you.” Lord General Onassis stated this like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. That may have been the case if this were any other group of rabble that claimed to be favored by the Dark Gods. These were something entirely different. These rebels were dug in and fought smart enough that weeks of struggle had failed to dislodge them. "You will lose many men should you do this. Give us time to undermine their position, to target their leaders, sabotage their supply lines and we will save lives.” Captain Bertok almost pleaded with him, thinking of the Guardsmen who fought and died under Onasis It was a subtle thing, a small emphasis on certain words but just enough for the Lord General to notice. “I do appreciate your company’s support Captain but this campaign has lasted long enough. We need to make the assault or the rebels will dig in even deeper, perhaps retake other parts of the city and Bareesta will be lost to us entirely. I grow weary of this filthy world and these Chaos spawn...” And you Astartes, you are legendary but there are far too few of you- we bear the brunt of the Imperium's wars. I command here and if I must lose an army for victory I will do so! What is an army to the billions within that city and to a world home to hundreds of times that ? The borderline heretical thoughts came to his mind but did not leave his mouth. Instead The Lord General tried to stay calm and polite burying his rising temper but Bertok heard only contempt. Everything about the Lord General irritated him. Onasis' ability to command had never been in doubt but his ability to lead, that was what concerned him. As to the Lord General himself, he was short and stocky, he hadn't fought on the front lines in decades, and Bertok feared that he saw his command as nothing but markers on his maps. Onassis seemed to slump. Weakness! He chided himself for setting a bad example. He looked to that map which lay spread out before him. He paused for a moment to listen to the wind howl between the Kilometers high spires of the Hive City around them. He thought better of his previous statement and looking to save face made a bold demand. “Captain Bertok we must make the assault now! I will order with or without your support. I have tens of thousands ready, that is a fraction of my total force but it is enough. We will break through Gate 42 and take control of the Fabrica District, starving the rebels within of their means to fight.” Again this seemed like the most obvious thing in the universe, this was not arrogance but complete confidence in his command. “What of the civilians inside Lord General? Those who will be caught in the crossfire.” The captain rumbled, struggling to control his temper, only the hard edge in his voice betrayed his mood. Only one thing was worse than death- needless death. “They should never have allowed Chaos to take root among them. The Emperor will claim those who belong to him.” Onassis' calm and total willingness to let innocents die was infuriating to the Space Marine. The Raven Guard had always cared for the people of the Imperium, he prided himself on that. He lost control and slammed his fist down snapping the table in half. "WE WANT NO PART OF THIS! YOU WILL FAIL AND THOUSANDS WILL DIE!” His black pupils radiated a cold fury and his face set itself into a snarl. “THEN LET THEM DIE! THEIR SACRIFICE IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE IMPERIUM! WHAT IS AN ARMY TO THE PRESERVATION OF A WORLD!?” The Lord General roared right back, drawing his power sword. “You challenge an Astartes, General!?” The Raven Guard pulled his combat knife, impressed by the man's courage but still willing to defend himself if he had to. “You challenged me first…” The Lord General was already winding up to strike. “My lords please… do we not all serve the Imperium?” One of his staff, a lowly captain, quickly stepped in to ease the tension. “I see you cannot be dissuaded. We will fight with your men Lord General. But…” he replaced his knife and aimed a warning finger. “We do this not for you but for your men and any inside we may save. Your foolishness will cost them and if we can help shoulder their burden we will. By some miracle we may yet win this battle.” Bertok pulled on his helmet and vanished out into the dirty snown drifting around them. 25,000 Imperial Guard and 120 Raven Guard stormed Gate 42 soon after. They failed. 12,000 Guardsmen and 23 Raven Guard lay dead in the streets and factories of the Fabrica District among countless civilians. Bertok survived, though he was among the 15 wounded marines and that day he made an oath. Never again would the Raven Guard fight with Lord General Onassis The captain swore that as he watched one of his most promising, brother Belasko was carried away. He would live despite his head wound. That knowledge was no comfort, it only reinforced his vow. Never again. Trivia This came from a comment made by a guy who was playing a Deathwatch game I was running. I created the character with the name Belasko(Basque- translates as Raven) he described him as having a metal plate in his head and burns on the right side of his face and that those injuries happened at the battle of Gate 42, he gave me the basic story and here it is. Category:Stories Category:BrowncoatMando Category:Space Marine Stories